Pro-gay marriage TV ad: Obama, Cheney, Powell, Laura Bush

A quartet who crosses party lines and spans ideologies — including President Obama and ex-Vice President Dick Cheney — is featured in a TV spot endorsing same-sex marriage, on the eve of oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court on two pivotal marriage equality cases.

“Time4Marriage”, aired by the Respect for Marriage Coalition, also features former first Lady Laura Bush — whose husband’s 2004 reelection was boosted by anti-gay marriage ballot measures in 11 states — and former Secretary of State Colin Powell.

Former Vice President Dick Cheney, featured in pro-gay marriage TV spot

As chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 1993, Powell resisted President Clinton’s efforts to allow gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military, leading to the controversial “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. In 2010, however, he provided key support when Congress voted to repeal the serve-in-silence law.

Time4Marriage features four sound bites, taken from public remarks by the diverse pairing:

–“Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law,” says Obama. The 44th president’s position on marriage equality “evolved” into full support last May, a week after Vice President Joe Biden popped off on “Meet the Press’ and announced his support for same-sex marriage.

–“Allowing them to live together with the protection of laws it seems to me is the way we should be moving in this country,” says Powell. Washington, Maine and Maryland voted in 2012 to become the seventh, eighth and ninth states to permit same-sex couples to wed. Marriage quality measures are now pending in the Illinois and Rhode Island legislatures.

Former first Lady Laura Bush, featured in TV campaign promoting marriage equality

The Respect for Marriage Coalition, a group of 80 organizations, plans to take its campaign to print with upcoming ads in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the Washington Post. It plans to spend more than $1 million, at a time when national polls show a slight majority of Americans — but more than 70 percent of those under 30 — supporting marriage equality.